


Jane Austen's Iris

by Jade4813



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-03-01 22:21:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13304529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jade4813/pseuds/Jade4813
Summary: An AU Westallen story, inspired by Jane Austen's Emma. Also has romantic Cisco/Caitlin and hints of Wally/Linda.





	1. Chapter 1

_Dear Struck by Lightning_

_My best friend has been in love with someone else in our friend group for a while now (over a year), but she’s never gotten up the nerve to confess to her feelings. This is putting her through an emotional rollercoaster, but she won’t do anything about it! I know I promised her I would never tell him, but would it really be that wrong to drop him a few unsubtle hints? If it means the end of the secrecy, isn’t that better?_

_Trying to be Helpful_

_Dear Trying_

_While I certainly sympathize with the impulse, I have a question for you: Which is more important to you: your friend’s trust or your desire to get involved? I’m sorry to say this, but the only person who can get her off of this emotional rollercoaster is herself. I know you’re hoping that if you spill the beans with unsubtle hints, he’ll return her feelings, but what if he doesn’t? Not only will things be awkward between all three of you, but you’ll have shattered the trust of someone you describe as your best friend. Broken hearts mend faster than broken trust, in my experience._

_As difficult as it is, sometimes you have to let your friends run their own lives. That said, for very good friends, you can certainly point out that there are only three options in this situation: doing nothing (with the knowledge that then nothing will change), rolling the dice and confessing her feelings, or trying to let him go and move on. She can continue to choose to do nothing, but doing nothing is in fact a choice._

_As for you, you should respect her decision, but there’s nothing wrong with drawing lines for your own emotional wellbeing if you need to. What she does about her feelings is her choice. How long you can be (or are willing to be!) a shoulder to cry on if you know she’s never going to try to resolve her situation one way or another is yours._

* * *

“You know, when you look that pleased with yourself, I get worried.” Iris pulled her attention away from her computer and looked up at the opening of the door, smiling when she saw it was her old friend, Barry Allen. They’d been friends for as long as she could remember and had been bonded by affection if not blood for nearly as long.

She threw him most innocent expression, which she knew he wouldn’t buy for a second. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she protested.

As expected, Barry looked skeptical. “Uh huh.” He slid into the seat across from her and placed a slightly greasy bag on the table between them, scooting it around the edge of her laptop. “I brought you lunch.”

At the smell of hot fries, Iris’s stomach grumbled. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until that moment, so she snapped her laptop closed and shoved it aside with more force than was necessary as she made a hasty grab for the bag. She knew what she’d find before she even pulled it open. Two double cheeseburgers and fries – her favorite. “Barry, you’re an absolute lifesaver!” she cried.

Now it was his turn to look smug. “I know,” he admitted, snagging a fry as she pulled them out of the bag.

“Hey, those are mine!” she protested, yanking them away.

He snorted. “Like you won’t be stealing some of mine.”

She pouted and said in a low grumble, “That is hardly the point.”

They ate silently for a moment, and then Barry asked, “So, why did you look so pleased with yourself?”

“Mmm,” Iris began, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “Mason just green lit my latest article.” When his eyes lit up, she hurried to interject. “That is, my _Struck By Lightning_ article.” She’d been trying for a while to be allowed to write more serious pieces, but her editor had so far only allowed her to work on a few. As the most junior reporter at the paper, she still had dues to pay before he promoted her for good.

Barry knew how much she wanted off the obits and weekly romance column beat, but he didn’t let disappointment on her behalf show. Indeed, his smile didn’t slip an inch. “That’s great! I read your last one. Your advice to the girl whose family won’t accept her boyfriend was really good.”

She beamed. “Yeah, I think I might actually be pretty good at this. I mean, I did get Cisco and Caitlin together.”

He threw her a stern look, pointing a rapidly cooling fry in her direction. “That was luck.”

“That was a stroke of brilliance, you mean. Everyone swore it would never happen, and what do you know? They get back from their honeymoon today.” Her smile was more than a little self-satisfied. “You know, I’ve been thinking. I clearly have a talent for matchmaking. Maybe I should try it again.”

His expression fell, to be replaced by a look of genuine alarm. “Iris, I don’t think that’s a good idea–”

She wasn’t deterred. “Nonsense! Let’s see…who should I set up next?”

“I really don’t think–”

“There’s Wally, of course,” she began, heedless of his protest. “Though he doesn’t seem to have any problems finding a date. In fact, he could probably stand to slow down a little. Hm. What about yo–”

His lunch completely forgotten, Barry straightened abruptly. “No!” he practically yelped.

It took her a second to realize the source of his alarm, and she forced a smile even as her stomach twisted. She’d been about to ask if he had any single friends; she certainly wasn’t going to suggest setting him up with someone. She didn’t know why the very thought made her feel slightly sick, but she pushed that feeling aside. “I wasn’t going to say you!” she reassured him with a forced laugh. “It’s obvious you wouldn’t go along with it anyway.”

His shoulders sagged a little bit in relief, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a tight smile. “No, probably not. I’m not really interested in matchmaking.”

Iris regarded him closely, her eyes narrowed and her head cocked slightly to the left. “Are you sure?” she asked tentatively, “You know, you don’t date very often. Don’t you want to fall in love?”

Barry didn’t meet her eyes as he stood and grabbed their leftover trash, turning to throw it away. His voice was subdued as he replied, “I’m just waiting for the right person. When I find her, I’ll know.”

Iris looked back at her computer screen and dropped the subject. She didn’t know why the topic of Barry being in love made her uneasy, but she wasn’t enough of a masochist to press the issue. “Well, what about Julian?” she suggested in an attempt to change the subject, picking the first name that came to mind. After a second’s thought, she straightened. Actually, it wasn’t a bad idea.

Her companion didn’t seem to agree with her. “Julian?” he repeated in astonishment. “Julian Albert?” She nodded. “We’re talking about the same guy, right? A little shorter than me, blond hair, allergic to the concept of joy?”

She was undeterred by his skepticism. “Maybe if he found love, he wouldn’t always be so grumpy,” she pointed out.

She could almost feel him rolling his eyes at her. “You’ve met him, right?” She rolled her eyes in return and shook her head, turning her attention back to her computer. The more she thought about it, the more the idea grew on her, but she still needed to find the perfect person for him. That would take some thought.

As her lifelong best friend, Barry could tell when the battle was lost, but he still tried one more time to get her to change her mind. “Iris, I know you mean well, but I still think this is a bad idea. Julian isn’t going to appreciate being set up, believe me. If you do this, I’m afraid someone is going to get hurt.” 

Iris snorted. “Get hurt? Honestly, Barry. Knowing about love and relationships is kind of my job, at least at the moment. It’s going to be fine, you’ll see!”

A few days later, she was pretending to enjoy a cold cup of coffee at her desk after work when Linda Park approached and collapsed into a nearby chair. “Rough day?” Iris asked, though the expression on her friend’s face made the question more or less rhetorical.

“Don’t even get me started,” the other woman grumbled, kicking off her shoes to rub her aching feet. “You know, I love sports. In fact, that’s kind of my job. But when I’m doing my job, I wish I didn’t have to prove I actually know something about them all the damn time.”

Iris threw her a commiserating smile, which turned quickly into a speculative look. If she wasn’t mistaken, Linda was single. “You know what? I think you need a beer.”

“No, what I need is a margarita large enough to drown in.”

“Well, I know a good club nearby. Let’s go! If you don’t mind, I might call a couple of friends to join us!” Her mind was already racing as she tried to figure out how she could get Julian and Linda together. It perhaps wasn’t the most obvious of matches, but given their equal propensity for snarky, sarcastic comebacks, they might be perfect for each other.

Without a clue what she was walking into, Linda shrugged and grabbed her bag. “Why not?” she asked, slipping her shoes back on and standing with a wince. “The more the merrier!”

* * *

The place was packed, but the two women deftly made their way to the bar and ordered some drinks before Linda excused herself for a moment. Iris craned her neck, looking around at the crowd. She’d made a few calls on the way over and was fairly certain she’d convinced Barry to bring Julian by. However, since she knew he still wasn’t entirely on board with her plan, she wasn’t certain he would actually do so until she saw them cut through the crowd towards them.

“Hey!” she greeted Julian with a warm smile, causing his brow to furrow in mild confusion. They’d always been cordial, of course, but they’d never gotten to know each other enough to be overly friendly. “I’m glad you could make it!” Barry tried to throw her a warning look, but she ignored him, turning to wave the bartender over. “Let me get you a drink.”

“That’s all right,” he protested, stepping next to her. Once he’d ordered, he turned his attention back to her. “I was a little surprised at the invitation.”

She nudged him with her shoulder and teased, “Well, it occurred to me that we don’t know each other very well, and since you and Barry are friends –” that was something of an overstatement, “– we should get to know each other better! Speaking of which, let me introduce you to Linda Park.” She gestured to the woman who had taken position at the bar on Julian’s other side, and Iris took her impeccable timing as a sign. It was almost like destiny was helping her along, and she had to fight back the smile at the thought. “She works with me at CCPN, covering sports.”

“Oh, really?” he asked, turning to the woman in question with what Iris decided to consider genuine if subdued interest. “What’s your favorite sport to cover?”

Linda visibly braced herself for another challenge to what was both her passion and her profession and responded in a voice that edged on a dare, “Football. You a football fan?”

He shrugged slightly, though Iris could swear he offered the slightest ghost of a smile. “American football? Don’t know a thing about it, I’m afraid.” In the absence of a challenge, the tension seeped from Linda’s shoulders.

“There’s a game on this Sunday!” Iris interjected, inspired by a flash of brilliance. “You guys should come over to my place! We can watch it together! There’s nobody better to watch a game with than Linda,” she gushed, with such effusive enthusiasm that her friend looked at her askance. Iris’s interest in football had never been so marked before.

Julian considered her suggestion for a second and then nodded, taking a sip of his drink. “With an offer like that, how could I refuse?” he agreed, and for once, he didn’t sound the least bit disgruntled. As he and Linda engaged in conversation, Iris shot Barry a triumphant smile. Rather than compliment her brilliance, he just shrugged and muttered something she didn’t catch under his breath before walking off.

A short time later, Iris heard Barry call her name and looked around to see him gesturing for her to come over. She started to move towards him when Julian’s voice stopped her. “Can I buy you another drink?” She glanced back at him in surprise, having forgotten for a moment he was there. He looked from her to Linda, whose glass was still half full. “I would be happy to get something for you both.”

Was it possible he was nervous to be left alone with Linda? Could her plan be working so quickly? Buoyed by optimism, she said, “Maybe in a few minutes. I’ll be right back. Save me a seat?”

She and Linda shared a look that had the other woman glowering. “Subtle,” Linda mouthed behind Julian’s back. Iris just shrugged and walked away with an unrepentant grin. Linda might not be thrilled to be set up like this, but if the two of them fell in love, she would come to realize it was for the best.

When she approached Barry, he nodded towards the door. She tried to follow his gaze, but the crowd blocked her view. “Want a boost?” he offered, gesturing as if he planned to lift her, the corners of his mouth twitching with mirth.

“Ha ha,” she replied dryly, looking around desperately for another option. It would be beneath her dignity to have him pick her up; she’d never hear the end of it from him if she did. “You know, there was a time I was taller than you,” she reminded him.

“When we were ten, maybe,” he admitted, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched her grab a nearby stool and pulled it closer so she could stand on the rung and look out over the crowd.

As reward for her efforts, she saw what had caught his attention. Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon had just come in. Their heads were bowed, the two of them lost in each other as they walked through the crowd. With as little attention as they paid to their surroundings, it was a miracle they were able to go anywhere at all.

Iris waved her arms in an attempt to get their attention and called their names, but they didn’t seem to hear. As her efforts grew more enthusiastic, her balance became more precarious. Just when she thought she might tip, she felt an arm go around her waist to steady her. “What would you do without me, Elf?”

She stuck her tongue out at Barry. “Have peace of mind?” she suggested in an innocent voice. “And don’t call me Elf.” One misjudged Halloween costume at age sixteen, and she’d never lived it down since.

He chuckled, then waved his free hand and called out his friends’ names. The two working together finally caught the attention of the newlyweds, who made their way over. When they were close enough, Iris cried, “Welcome back!” and hopped down to pull Caitlin into a tight hug. “How was the honeymoon?”

“It was wonderful.” Caitlin’s voice was as warm as her smile, though Iris noticed her gaze wandered towards her new husband, who was talking to Barry. “We almost didn’t want to come back.” The newlyweds shared a look, and Caitlin’s blush was visible, even under her mild sunburn. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten that it probably wouldn’t have happened, if not for you.”

Her grin was irrepressible. “All I did was give the two of you a little push.” Well, several significant pushes, but who was counting? “The rest, you did on your own.”

“Well, thank you, regardless. He makes me,” she paused and looked over at Cisco again. Whatever reminder the sight of him brought to mind, her blush deepened, and she finished, “very happy.”

When the look between Cisco and Caitlin grew uncomfortably long, Iris coughed to discreetly remind her friend of her presence. It barely worked. “Anyway, not that I’m not glad to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“Oh, Barry called us!” Cisco interjected, sliding next to his wife and resting his hand on the small of her back. “Though we may not be able to stay too long. We’re pretty jetlagged.”

Iris made a sound in the back of her throat as she shot her old friend a quick look. She figured his intent had been to call in reinforcements, that together they would talk her out of her matchmaking scheme. If so, he’d miscalculated. Seeing their happiness only strengthened her resolve.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I want to dance with the most beautiful woman here tonight.” He grabbed Caitlin’s hand to give it a quick tug. “Come on; they’re playing our song.”

She grimaced. “I’m not even sure what they’re playing qualifies as actual music!” she protested, but she didn’t resist as he led her out onto the floor.

“You know, they may be a while. We should wait for them at the bar,” Barry suggested, grabbing her hand and leading the way. She was a little disappointed, since she’d hoped to give Julian and Linda a little more time to get to know each other. On the other hand, she was dying of curiosity to see how things were progressing.

Much to her disappointment, when they did find Julian, he was alone. Iris was momentarily afraid that Linda had bailed, but her fear was allayed when she saw her phone, still on the bar, and was informed Linda had stepped away to the bathroom.

“Look who I found!” she exclaimed, showing Barry off to justify her absence.

“Sorry I disappeared on everyone. I ran into some old friends,” Barry explained, gesturing to where Cisco was mortifying his wife on the dance floor. Still, as embarrassed as she clearly was, she danced with him like there was nowhere else she’d rather be.

Following his gaze, Iris winced. “He really is the worst dancer in the world, isn’t he?” she murmured affectionately, just loud enough for Barry to hear.

“Clearly you’ve forgotten our senior prom,” he returned, causing her to snicker.

Julian followed their gaze and raised his eyebrows at the sight. “They’re friends of yours?” The question was rhetorical, his tone unreadable.

“Caitlin and Cisco. I’m sure I’ve mentioned them to you before.” Barry’s tone was light as he waved the bartender over. “They just got back from their honeymoon.”

His frown lifted, and his voice softened. ”Oh, the engineer and the doctor? I think you–”

Whatever he was about to say was cut off as Linda returned. The first thing Iris saw was her smile, which lit up the whole place. “Sorry I took so long. You wouldn’t believe the line to the restrooms! Oh, there’s my phone! I was looking for that!”

Iris went from wanting to see Linda and Julian interact to wishing she had her friend all to herself in a heartbeat. Her friend’s expression implied things had gone well in her absence, and she was dying for the juicy details.

She was still tamping down her overwhelming curiosity when the bartender came over. There was a brief flurry of confusion as orders were placed and Caitlin, having dragged her husband off the dance floor, all but collapsed against the bar and begged for an appletini.

For a man who had appeared to be suffering from full body seizures moments before, Cisco wasn’t even winded. “I’m driving, so I’ll have a soda.”

Caitlin frowned at him over her shoulder. “You sure? We could get a cab.”

“I like watching out for you. Besides, I’m hoping you find it sexy when I do.” She snorted, but the corners of her mouth twitched. Whatever she said in return was drowned out as the bartender called out to Julian over her head, indicating it was his turn.

“Nothing for me, thanks,” Julian replied, waving the other man off and shrugging into his jacket.

“Oh, you’re not going, are you?” Iris asked, shooting a quick glance at Linda. Her friend was deep in conversation with Barry, her hands cutting through the air as she punctuated her story with emphatic gestures.

“I’m afraid I am,” he replied, offering her a slight smile. “I have an early appointment tomorrow, and I’m sure you want to catch up with your friends. Tell them I said congratulations.”

“Oh, but I’ll see you Sunday, right?” she asked, eager to continue her matchmaking scheme.

Julian grinned. “Definitely,” he reassured her. “I’ll see you then.” He bumped into Linda as he passed and paused long enough to say goodbye. Considering the entire evening a tremendous success, Iris turned to Barry to gloat. She couldn’t get his attention; he was too busy glowering at where Julian had disappeared in the crowd. With a huff of irritation, Iris pushed his obstinacy out of her mind and asked Caitlin and Cisco for more stories of their honeymoon instead.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dear SBL_

_I’ve been friends with this girl for a couple of years. The thing is, I’ve had a crush on her almost the whole time, but I’ve never told her how I feel. There never seems to a perfect moment to tell her the truth. I want to tell her now, but I don’t know how she feels about me. She’s always been attracted to jerks, and I’m not like that. What do I do? Should I tell her the truth, or should I just try to forget how I feel about her and move on? (I know she reads your column every day, so I’m kind of hoping she reads this and realizes it’s me.)_

_Friendzoned in the City_

_Dear Friendzoned_

_I’ll be honest with you. My first thought upon reading your letter was “yikes.” But putting that aside and giving you the benefit of the doubt… If you’re in the “friendzone,” it’s because you put yourself there. In a couple of years you’ve never found a moment to tell her how you feel? It sounds like you can either wait forever for that “perfect moment” or just tell her the truth and see what happens. (Also, I have to point out that hoping she reads between the lines in an anonymous advice column based off some vague details isn’t exactly a great bet.)_

_Whatever you choose, just remember one thing. You have to be prepared to accept her answer. If she feels the same way about you, great! However, if doesn’t reciprocate, how will you respond? Will you still want to be her friend, or will you blame her for taking your friendship at face value and not reciprocating your romantic feelings? If you think she owes you something because of your feelings for her, then by all means, you should stop pretending you’re her friend at all. Immediately._

* * *

“Okay, we have to talk about last night!” Linda replied as she rolled her seat over to Iris’s desk.

“I knew you’d have a good time!” Iris exclaimed, putting down her pen to give her friend her full attention. She’d been practically vibrating all morning with the urge to ask Linda’s opinion of Julian, but she’d resolved not to bring up the subject. Linda had to suspect Iris’s intentions, but if she pushed them too hard, she had no doubt her friend would balk.

“I did! I have to tell you what happened. I – oh, hold on. I think that’s me.” With a scowl, she scooted back over to her desk to answer her ringing telephone.

Jittery from the rush of excitement so quickly thwarted, Iris picked up her pen and started doodling in her notepad. She tried to focus on work, but it seemed impossible. So, instead, she let her mind wander to the next stage in her plan: the Sunday football game. She would have to stop by the store to pick up some snacks, of course, and probably some beer. Intending Julian and Linda to be occupied by each other, she should probably invite someone else along, so they didn’t feel guilty about excluding her and she wouldn’t be left feeling like the odd man out. As excited as she was at the prospect of them hitting it off, she had discovered with Cisco and Caitlin that it was inevitably awkward to be alone with two people who wanted nothing more than to be alone with each other – even if they would rather die than say so out loud.

But who could she invite? Barry was the obvious answer, but he was so against her plan, she couldn’t help but think he’d try to sabotage it. Cisco and Caitlin were also obvious choices, but she wasn’t sure they’d want to attend, since they were still in a “wanting nothing more than to be alone with each other” post-nuptial haze. Wally? Her brother did like football…

As she pondered her options, her cell phone began to buzz, notifying her of an incoming text. She glanced at the screen and saw Barry’s name.

_Have you caved and asked Linda about Julian yet?_

She let out a disgruntled huff. She didn’t mind that he knew her so well – in fact, she was often pleased by it. It did occasionally bother her that he knew that he knew her so well.

 _I don’t know what you’re talking about,_ she lied in return.

_Be careful. I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m not sure Julian is that into Linda. If you want to know the truth, he’s a bit of a snob. Linda’s wonderful, but I don’t think he’ll ever seriously consider being with anyone without a string of letters after their name._

Iris scowled and tossed her phone back on her desk. Not into Linda? Who was he trying to fool? She’d seen them with her own eyes; Julian had seemed plenty interested the night before! After Sunday, his chagrin at being proven so wrong would only be icing on the cake.

The text exchange still lurked in the back of her mind, leaving her both distracted and a bit disgruntled when Linda rolled back to her desk. “Where was I? Oh, yeah! You won’t believe what happened! I met this guy –”

Iris forced a chuckle, though she was still mulling over Barry’s text message. “I know. I was there.”

Linda waved her hand, as though waving away the suggestion. “Not him! I mean, he’s okay, but, you know, whatever. I wasn’t talking about him. I was on my way to the restroom when I bumped into this guy, and, Iris. Let me tell you. His smile? _Gorgeous._ I’d left my phone on the bar, but I still got his number!” Her voice had turned into a victorious singsong. “See?”

Iris was so surprised by this unexpected development that she couldn’t even process what this meant for her matchmaking scheme. “Wow, that’s – wait a minute, let me see that again!” She grabbed Linda’s hand and pulled it closer, to get a better look at the number scrawled on her wrist. She recognized that number, not to mention the barely-legible scrawl directly above.

“You know him?” Linda asked, eyes narrowed as she tried to decipher her friend’s expression.

“Linda…you’re not going to believe this, but…that guy you met? He’s my brother.” In light of her friend’s noise of disbelief, Iris grabbed her phone and flipped to her photo reel, flipping through the pictures until she found her pictures of Christmas at the West house the year before. After taking a moment to chuckle at Barry in his red Santa hat, she passed the phone over. “See?”

Linda laughed, the sound both amused and perplexed. “Well, what do you know? I guess it’s a small wor-wait.” Her face fell. “This isn’t the brother you’ve told me about, is it? The one with the revolving door of girlfriends?”

Iris winced. She and Linda often had lunch together, and their discussions sometimes veered towards their personal lives - bad dates, best friends, and, on occasion, crazy stories about their families. A time or two, Iris had mentioned the romantic drama her brother couldn’t seem to avoid.

Iris didn’t think it was just personal bias that convinced her that her little brother Wally was one of the sweetest guys on the planet. He was funny and smart and, as evidence showed, apparently had no trouble attracting the opposite sex. Unfortunately, he had a propensity for falling in love quickly – and out of love just as fast. From her view on the sidelines, it seemed that Wally’s relationships burned hot and fizzled out fast, and while he genuinely never meant to hurt anyone, he had unwittingly left behind a number of bruised or broken hearts in his wake.

She’d shared a few good-natured laughs about his most recent relationship train wrecks over cups of coffee and stale vending machine food (heaven knew her love life wasn’t interesting enough to discuss), but only because it had seemed like a harmless thing to do. She would have never done so if she’d anticipated this happening in her wildest dreams. Now she didn’t have the first clue what to do. Should she encourage Linda to call him, knowing the odds were pretty good that this relationship wouldn’t last and Linda might be hurt? Or should she discourage it, knowing it wasn’t her place to do so?

When in doubt, the facts seemed at least a safe place to start, even if they were occasionally awkward. “Um. Yeah. He’s my only brother.”

Linda looked crestfallen. “Oh.” She sucked in a deep breath and stared at the number on her wrist. “So…I probably shouldn’t call him, huh?”

Iris winced. “I really can’t advise you on this one. I can tell you that he’s a great guy and a great brother, but –” her voice trailed off, because it felt like anything she could say following that “but” would be a betrayal of someone she cared about.

Her friend didn’t wait to hear what was coming next, even if Iris could find the words. “But…if I’m looking for something serious, his track record doesn’t inspire confidence.” She scowled and pulled her sleeve down over the number, then slumped back into her chair. “You know, it’s not like I won’t go on a date with someone unless I know we’re looking at forever. I just don’t have a lot of time to spend on the dating scene, and I don’t want to waste what little I do have with someone who doesn’t look past next week.”

“I’m not sure that’s entirely fair,” she protested, feeling she should come to her brother’s defense. When Wally settled down a bit, she had no doubt he’d make some woman very happy one day – she just wasn’t sure that day was today. Linda shook her head and waved away her argument again.

“I’m not trying to insult your brother,” she said with a slight shrug. “I’m sure he’s wonderful and all. It just seems that maybe he’s not what I’m looking for.”

The two women lapsed into silence – awkward on one side, slightly morose on the other. Then Linda asked with poorly feigned enthusiasm, “So, Sunday, huh? You sure you really want to do this?”

Iris nodded. “Absolutely,” she said firmly. Linda was perhaps a little discouraged at the moment, but all she needed was to see that Julian was perfect for her. “I’ve got everything planned.”

“I bet,” her friend retorted with a smirk. “All right; I make no promises, but I’ll give Julian a second chance. But you should probably know, I think you might be barking up the wrong tree. Don’t give me that look; you aren’t exactly subtle! Anyway, I don’t think Julian is as into me as you seem to think he is.”

She made a tiny squawk of protest, reminded of Barry’s similar words of caution, but Linda simply shrugged and moved back to her desk. Why was everyone so determined to take the fun out of this for her? Well, just wait until Sunday. She’d show them.

* * *

“Is this ref kidding? His knee hit the ground! My great-grandmother could see that, and she’s been dead for fifteen years!” Linda screamed as she jumped up and down and gesticulated at the television. Beside her, Julian lurched forward in alarm and rescued his beer before it could become a casualty of her sports-fan preoccupation.

Iris tried not to groan, though her hand twitched from the desire to rub the spot between her brows. Forcing a smile, she turned to Julian, who was watching Linda’s meltdown with a sort of horrified fascination. “Did I mention she’s really into football?” Iris tried, though the lighthearted tone she was attempting was diminished by the volume with which she had to speak.

“YES!” Linda bellowed, almost jumping onto the couch. When the running back fumbled the ball, she let out a shriek of despair and collapsed into the cushions, for all the world looking like a prisoner on death row. “You guys are killing me!”

“It’s nice to see someone passionate about their work,” Julian replied in a mild tone, taking a sip of his beer. Linda didn’t even seem to hear him. Things were not going as planned.

In retrospect, trying to get Linda to focus on her love life when her favorite team was in the playoffs was a bad idea. Iris was pretty sure she could set the room on fire, and Linda would tell it to back off until the end of the quarter.

Julian seemed unperturbed as he stood and meandered around the room. Linda had given him a brief overview of the rules before the coin toss, but he didn’t seem terribly interested in the game. Iris would have been more interested in it herself if she wasn’t so distracted by her machinations.

“It’s a shame Barry couldn’t make it; he’d have enjoyed this.” Cisco commented as he grabbed a handful of popcorn and tossed it into his mouth, staring at Linda’s antics more than at the activity on the screen. Unfortunately, it was the first day of the annual Central City Law Enforcement Professionals Conference, and they probably wouldn’t get a chance to see much of him until the week was over.

“Oh, did I tell you Patty is coming into town tomorrow? She’ll be here for a couple weeks,” Caitlin cut in, ignoring Linda as she broke into her impromptu touchdown dance.

“Oh, yeah?” Iris replied, feigning interest. She’d met Caitlin’s cousin, Patty Spivot, a couple of times and, while she had no real reason to dislike the other woman, she wasn’t eager to spend more time in her company either. Of course, she would never be so rude as to tell Caitlin this, so she faked a smile and grabbed a handful of chips to keep her mouth too busy to necessitate maintaining the expression for long.

When she glanced over at Julian, however, he paused in his circuit around the room and smirked at her before turning his attention back to the pictures on her mantle. He’d apparently been watching her when Caitlin divulged this news and whatever he’d seen on her face, he, at least, seemed to suspect her true feelings.

“This is a nice picture,” he interjected, momentarily diverting the conversation. Realizing what he was looking at, Iris jumped to her feet and joined him. It was a photo of Linda and Iris at work, perched on the edge of her desk, both sipping from Central City Picture News mugs.

“I love that one,” she told him honestly, running a finger along the lower edge of the frame. A small smile crossed her face as she remembered the moment it had been taken. “Linda had just presented me with that nameplate on the desk as a gift. It was the day I was promoted from intern to being an actual journalist.” Well, on the obits desk, at least.

He made a soft sound and she saw him shoot her a glance out of the corner of his eye. “Yes, Barry mentioned that journalism was a bit of a career change for you. You were pursuing a doctorate in psychology before this?” His tone implied the question.

She nodded, wondering vaguely why Barry had mentioned her at all. She wondered for a second if he’d warned Julian about her plans before rejecting the suggestion out of hand. Barry might not agree with her current course of action, but he would never go behind her back to thwart her like that. “Yeah. I went into psychology because it seemed interesting, but I found my calling at the paper.” She didn’t go what had led her to the paper or why she loved journalism; she suspected he was only being polite, anyway.

“Of course, Linda’s been at the paper a lot longer than me,” she continued, redirecting the conversation to what she suspected to be the true subject of his interest. “She’s really taught me a lot about how to be a reporter, how to know what questions to ask, that kind of thing. She’s amazing!”

“I’m sure,” he replied, and she almost grinned at how hard he worked to hide his interest.

Just then, Linda’s phone beeped and she jumped off the couch to take a look at it. After glancing at the screen, she grinned and asked, “Hey, Iris? Can I use your bedroom for a minute? I need to take this.”

Iris shot a look of surprise at the screen. Second down, her favorite team had the ball, and she was voluntarily leaving the room? Iris didn’t think she would do that for anything short of an act of god. However, she nodded and watched as her friend darted into the bedroom. Maybe now would be a good time to be more pointed in encouraging Julian to pursue his interest in her friend.

Iris watched as Caitlin and Cisco shot her a quick look, spoke in hushed tones to each other, and then moved to the kitchen to refresh their drinks. There would be no better opportunity to put her matchmaking scheme into practice. “Tell me,” she began awkwardly, “have you had much time to date since moving to Central City?” It was not the subtle volley she’d hoped to find, but she didn’t think she had much time before they were interrupted, and it hardly seemed a conversation best held in front of others.

Surprise flickered behind his eyes for a moment, but he gave her a considering look as he nodded. “I had a girlfriend for a while, but not at the moment.”

Iris grinned. “Well, that’s good to hear.” Realizing how that sounded, she flushed. “I-I mean, I think there might be someone who could be interested in you. If you were, um, interested.” Her matchmaking efforts had never been so stilted with Cisco and Caitlin, though her long-standing friendship with them both had probably helped.

One corner of his mouth lifted. “I’m glad to hear you say that. I’ve been thinking about the possibility, and I believe I am. Interested, I mean.”

“That’s great!” she started to exclaim, but Julian took her by surprise. He bowed his head and moved in, and Iris was so shocked that his lips were almost upon hers before she realized what he was doing. She turned her head to the side at the last moment and jumped back, feeling his lips brush her cheek as she did so. Lifting her hands defensively, she scooted another foot away and practically yelped, “I think you misunderstood me!” When he didn’t move to bridge the distance, she sucked in a deep breath to steady her nerves and elaborated in a more calm tone, “I was talking about Linda.”

Julian frowned in confusion. “Linda?”

She nodded. “Yes. Linda.”

“Why would I be interested in Linda?” he pressed, and the sheer astonishment in his tone made her want to smack him.

“Why wouldn’t you?” she challenged. “Linda is wonderful and –”

“Yes, yes, of course,” he said, waving off her praises. “I have no doubt that Linda is lovely, but I am an Albert, and that comes with certain expectations. I assure you that those expectations require something a bit more prestigious than a reporter.”

Iris’s jaw dropped at this astonishing level of snobbery. “Might I remind you that I am a reporter,” she pointed out in a frigid tone. He’d been about to kiss her, so not only was he a snob, but he was a hypocrite too.

“But you have pursued a degree in psychology,” he argued in return. “I have no doubt that, in time, you could return to –”

“I am perfectly happy as a reporter, thank you very much.” If her tone before had been cold, it was downright glacial now.

He seemed unperturbed by either her tone or the sentiment behind it. “Of course,” he said, his voice so noncommittal, it could only be interpreted as verging on flippant. “Back to the point. I have thought about it, and I believe you would be –”

Iris wasn’t willing to hear any more. Everyone had told her that he wasn’t interested in Linda; Barry had even tried to warn her he was a snob. She hadn’t wanted to hear it and had ignored the signs, like his change of attitude towards Caitlin and Cisco when he heard about their degrees. She stepped even further back. “Don’t,” she warned. “I had thought you and Linda would be good together, but I can see that I was wrong. Linda could do a lot better.”

Julian frowned and took a step back, staring at her face with narrowed eyes. “I see,” he said after a long moment. “It appears I’ve been wasting my time. If you’ll excuse me.” Without another word, he turned and stormed out, letting the door slam behind him. He didn’t even bother to say goodbye to Cisco or Caitlin as he almost bowled them over on their way into the room.

Cisco muttered under his breath. Caitlin looked at Iris with a questioning expression on her face, but Iris just shrugged and looked away. She couldn’t find the words to explain what had just happened, not when he was trying to find a way to break the news to her friend.

Her task wasn’t made any easier when Linda returned from the other room with a wide grin on her face. She didn’t even rush to the television to return her attention to the game. “Good news?” Caitlin asked in the face of her obvious joy.

Linda nodded. “Yes, I – It’s nothing important. It just – it’s personal. Anyway, back to the game!” she cried in an attempt to change the subject. As she raced to the television, she looked around and asked, “Where’s Julian?”

Iris felt her stomach twist into knots. “He left,” she said tentatively, wavering on how to break the news. Figuring it was best to rip it off like a band-aid, she sucked in a deep breath and blurted, “Linda, I’m sorry. I was completely wrong about him. I thought the two of you would hit it off, but it turns out he’s actually a huge jerk. All this time, he thought – um – well, it turns out he was interested in me. I never would have encouraged you to give him a chance if I’d known, I swear!”

The other woman shrugged. “Okay.”

“Really? Are you okay? Because if he hurt you, I –”

“Iris, it’s no big deal,” she reassured her with a laugh. “Really. I was never really into him. That night at the club, I wondered if he was actually into you, but I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure. But believe me when I say that he’s not my type. I mean, I’m sure he has his good qualities, but that man is a massive snob.”

For the second time in just a few minutes, Iris found herself speechless. Had everyone clued into his personality but her? How could she have been so blind? She turned to Caitlin and Cisco for help. Cisco was staring intently at a spot on the wall like he was willing himself to disappear, and Caitlin was throwing her a commiserating look. “We – um – we thought he might be more interested in you, too, Iris. I mean, we wondered at the club, but it was pretty clear today. He blew off that conference Barry’s at, and it was pretty obvious he didn’t do that for Linda. He barely said three words to her since he got here!”

“But – but why didn’t anyone say anything?” In her amazement and confusion, she didn’t acknowledge that she wouldn’t have listened if they had, any more than she’d listened to Barry. She was still struggling to process the fact that everyone else had realized what she had not.

“Well,” Linda said slowly, her tone reluctant. “The thing is, I thought there was a chance you might be interested in him, and you were using the setup as a way to sort of, I don’t know, try to fight it or something.”

Iris was at a loss for words and looked around as though hoping clarity would materialize before her. When she glanced in his direction, Cisco interjected, “Don’t look at me! I had no idea anyone was into anyone else.” At Caitlin’s slight nudge, he grimaced and sheepishly admitted, “Okay, maybe I did. But I also thought you could do better.”

So it was official. Everyone knew but her! This did not speak well to her skills as a matchmaker. She threw herself onto the couch next to Linda with a huff. “Well, don’t worry about it, because I’m definitely not into him. In fact, I’m not really interested in getting involved with anyone at the moment! Or possibly ever!”

Lowering into the seat next to her, her friend asked gently, “You can’t mean that. You really don’t ever want to fall in love?”

Iris couldn’t help but glance over at the chair, watching as Cisco pulled Caitlin in his lap, his arm looped around her waist. She bowed her head to murmur something and he tilted his head back to whisper something in return. Almost unconsciously, Cisco lifted his hand to link his fingers in hers, and Caitlin leaned down to brush a kiss across his lips. He murmured something against her mouth, and Iris heard her light chuckle in response.

There was such warmth and familiarity and obvious affection between them, and for a moment, Iris’s heart twisted with jealousy. But she ruthlessly shoved the feeling aside. Love was something that was fun to find for others, but it had never been a particularly pleasurable pursuit for her. She’d had few relationships in the past, all brief and disastrous, and it wasn’t something she was eager to attempt again.

“No,” she said firmly, as much to remind herself as to reassure her friend. “Not particularly, and I doubt I’ll ever meet anyone who will make me change my mind.”


	3. Chapter 3

_Dear Struck_

_How do you know if someone likes you? I have a crush on this guy, but I don’t know how he feels about me._

_Hopeless and Shy_

_Dear Shy_

_First of all, I try not to believe anything is hopeless, so I encourage you to take heart! However, I’m afraid I don’t have an easy answer for you. You can get hints from his behavior (if he treat you like you’re special, if he wants to be around you and pays attention to the little things that matter to you, if he flirts with you, etc.), but I’ve found that the line between Friendship and Something More can be a little fuzzy._

_The only way to know for sure is to tell him how you feel and ask if he feels the same way. I know that can be a terrifying prospect, but you can never be certain otherwise._

_I wish you the best of luck!_

* * *

_If you’re free tonight, want to join us for dinner? Patty should be here, and I’m sure she’d love to see you and Barry!_

Iris sighed as she looked at her phone. _Of course! I’ll see you then!_ she wrote back, then tossed the phone back in her passenger seat as the light changed and she moved forward again. She’d only gotten a few blocks when she heard a horrendous sound and her car jerked to the side. It only took her a second to diagnose the problem.

She groaned as she pulled over and jumped out of the car to assess the damage. Just as she’d thought, her driver’s side rear tire was totally flat. With a huff of irritation, she crossed her arms over her chest and considered her options.

She could change the tire, of course – she had a spare in her trunk. But she was on her way to the convention center and would hate to take the time. Mason had nixed her suggestion that she write a couple of pieces on the Central City Law Enforcement Professionals Conference, but if there was one thing she knew he respected, it was initiative. If she was going to prove that she had the chops to move off the obits and romance column beat, she wouldn’t do it by waiting for opportunity to fall in her lap. She was going to have to go out and find it.

She was only a few blocks from Caitlin and Cisco’s apartment. If she hurried, she might be able to get there before they left for work and beg for a ride. It was at least worth the shot. She was just reaching into her back seat for her bag when she heard someone’s car door slam. “Everything okay?” a strange voice called out for her as he approached. “Flat tire?”

“Yeah, I – oh,” Iris began, turning towards the helpful bystander. Her breath caught in her throat when she got a good look at him. He was tall, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a shadow of scruff on his chin that made her doubt he’d bothered to shave that morning. He was attractive enough to cause her brain to shift into neutral for a moment, and she flushed when she realized she’d been staring. “Uh, yes. I guess.”

His smile caused the corner of his eyes to wrinkle adorably and her to flush even harder at the thought he might have read her mind. “Need help?”

Iris shook her head slightly, trying to get her thoughts back in order. She’d met attractive men before; there was no reason to go to pieces over it! “Oh, uh, thanks, but…I actually have to get to work. I’m sure I can take care of it when I get off.”

The stranger shrugged. “Okay, if you’re sure.” He started to turn back to his car, leaving her mentally kicking herself for not having accepted his help just to spend more time in his company, and then paused and looked over his shoulder at her. “Can I at least give you a lift?” He lifted his hands in a nonthreatening gesture. “I’m harmless, I promise.”

She grinned. “Somehow I doubt that,” she retorted in a lightly teasing, flirtatious tone. “And that would be great, thank you.”

He jumped into his car and waited for her to grab her things and join him. When she was settled in, he twisted in his seat to offer her his hand. “I suppose I should introduce myself. Eddie Thawne.”

With a warm smile, she shook it. “Iris West,” she introduced herself in turn.

“All right, Iris West. Where to? I should probably have mentioned that I’m from out of town so I don’t actually know my way around. But I’m pretty good at taking direction.” Somehow he was even more adorable when he was sheepish, she decided.

“Oh, really? What brings you to Central City?”

“Ah,” Eddie paused and cleared his throat. “Have you heard of the Law Enforcement Professionals Conference in town this week?”

She gasped. “You’re kidding! I was on my way there!” At his skeptical chuckle, she continued, “No, really, I swear, I was. I work for the Central City Picture News, and I’m covering it this week.” Implying it was an assignment was a harmless lie, she decided.

“Well,” he replied, leaning back against his seat with a grin. “Then I guess this is my lucky day.”

She took a look at the long, tapered fingers holding the steering wheel and noted the absence of a ring. “Yeah, I guess it’s mine too.”

* * *

_You aren’t going to believe this, but I’m at the convention center now. To hell with what Mason says. If I want to be a real reporter, I need to act like one._

Her phone beeped as she was slipping it into her pocket and she pulled it back out, expecting to see Barry’s response. Instead, she saw a message from Linda.

_Hey, can I get a rain check on our plans tonight? Something’s come up._

Feeling guilty that she hadn’t messaged to cancel sooner since she was apparently spending the evening with Patty, she shot back a quick reply. _Of course! Caitlin wanted me to go over and see her cousin anyway. We’ll find a good time to reschedule next time I’m in the office._

A second before she hit send, her phone buzzed as another message came through. She sent Linda’s message and then swiped over to Barry’s response.

_I totally believe that, which is why I had Caitlin pretend to be you on the phone yesterday. Your press pass should already be waiting for you. If you head over to pick it up now, I’ll meet you there._

Iris didn’t know whether to grin or roll her eyes at his foresight. “You don’t know me as well as you think you do,” she muttered to herself as she slipped the phone back into her pocket.

“Problems with your boyfriend?” Eddie asked and she jerked her head to the left to look at him.

“Oh! No,” she answered, flushing at the realization that she’d totally forgotten he was there. “Just a friend. I – uh – I don’t have a boyfriend.” At his grin, she looked away, pretending to crane her neck over the crowd so he wouldn’t see her answering smile as they walked towards registration.

The press desk was next to registration, so Iris detoured to get her pass and then lingered, waiting for Barry. She saw Eddie at one of the desks, getting his nametag and waved so he could find her in the bustling crowd, but he lingered for a moment longer. He spoke to the woman at the desk, and she skimmed the list in her hand before nodding and saying something to him quickly in return. Iris saw him turn and scan the crowd, and as she waved to get his attention, she saw Barry approach. Her smile froze on her face when she saw the woman at his side. Patty Spivot. 

Just then, Eddie reached her side, and Iris caught the look that he threw Patty as the two made their way through the crowd. “You two know each other?”

Eddie’s easy smile revealed nothing. “Not well. Spivot was just transferred to my department a couple of weeks ago. She…doesn’t strike me as the type of person I want to get to know much better,” he explained.

She didn’t have time to press for further information before the woman in question was before them. “Iris!” Barry greeted as he approached. “Look who I ran into!”

“Patty!” she cried with feigned enthusiasm. “It’s so good to see you. Caitlin told me you were coming to town.”

Patty shot Eddie a quick look before turning her attention back to Iris. “It’s good to see you, too. Barry and I were just at the same panel, and now we run into you! It’s a small world!”

Iris bit her tongue to resist the urge to point out that she and Barry had made plans to meet, so this encounter was hardly serendipitous. Barry covered a chuckle with a cough, which he hid behind one hand, his eyes warning her to play nice. “Yeah,” she responded weakly. “Fancy that. Um, I should probably get to work, but I’ll actually be joining you for dinner tonight.”

Eddie shifted a little closer to Iris, capturing her attention. “If you’re around later, you want to grab some lunch together? You can pay me back for your ride this morning.”

Iris chuckled at his light teasing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Barry watching them, his eyes narrowed. Patty was looking at something on the sleeve of her shirt. Iris tried to ignore them both as she replied softly, “It’s a date.”

* * *

That night, when Iris arrived at Caitlin and Cisco’s apartment, she found Barry was already there. He was in a corner, talking to Patty. Iris approached just in time to hear Patty say, “Have you read his crime scene reports? I think you’ll really be impressed by the way they’re structured. I’ve read them all at least three times. If you want, I can e-mail them to you.”

“Uh, sure,” he replied, smiling over her shoulder at Iris as she approached. “I’ll take a look. Hey, Iris.”

Iris greeted them both, and when Barry didn’t seem eager to pick up the conversation where it had left off, she tried to fill the silence. “So, Patty, how was the trip in? I heard it was supposed to be pretty stormy in your neck of the woods. I hope it didn’t make your drive too difficult!”

Patty smiled. “No, not too bad.”

Iris waited a moment, but when nothing else was forthcoming, she tried again. “I hear you recently transferred. How do you like the new job?”

“I’m still new, but I like it so far!”

Silence again, and Barry hid is chuckle with a cough, his eyes twinkling at Iris as he attempted to help. “Are you still doing the same kind of work, or…?”

He let his voice trail off, hoping she would pick up the thread and open up a bit, but she just nodded. “More or less the same, at least right now.”

Iris tried hard not to sigh in frustration, and the trio lapsed into awkward silence. It was, she reflected, the main reason she had a hard time relating to Patty. The other woman was nice enough, but conversation with her never seemed to come easily. “Um…Eddie mentioned earlier that the two of you work together.” She let her voice lift up at the end, turning the sentence into a question and inviting an opportunity for her companion to elaborate.

In return, she nodded. “That’s true.” Was it possible her conversational skills were actually getting worse and even less informative?

Iris tried not to be obvious as she looked over her shoulder, hoping for a rescue from either of their hosts. No such luck; they were in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner. “Um. So you don’t know him very well? Is he nice? Do you know if he’s, you know, seeing anyone?” She still wasn’t sure that she would be interested in dating him, but there was no point in wasting time wondering if it was a moot point, anyway.

Patty’s expression gave nothing away as she asked in an even tone, “Why do you ask?”

She shot a look to Barry, expecting him to pick up on her expression – something along the lines of At this point, I’m just looking for anything longer than one syllable –but he was staring at the bottle of beer in his hand and she couldn’t catch his eye. Masking her frustration, she replied, her tone making the statement a question, “I’m just curious?”

The other woman pursed her lips and replied in a thoughtful tone, “Everyone seems to think he’s nice. I don’t know if he’s seeing anyone seriously or not, though.”

Barry murmured something about going to the kitchen to see if Caitlin and Cisco needed help and walked away. Iris barely noticed; she was too busy throwing a mental celebration. While Patty’s response hadn’t been terribly informative, it had at least not been entirely monosyllabic.

* * *

After dinner, Barry and Iris chased their hosts out of the kitchen, declaring that they would do the clean up and refusing to entertain any argument to the contrary. As their companions’ voices filtered in through the open door, Barry filled the sink with water while Iris grabbed a towel to dry.

“And you say you aren’t patient,” he teased in an undertone as he dumped some dishes in the sink. In response to her confused look, he explained, “I thought you showed admirable restraint earlier, when you were talking to Patty.”

She rolled her eyes at him and huffed, “Why is every conversation with her like pulling teeth?”

He smiled and handed her a plate to dry. “She’s not that bad when you get to know her a little bit better. She really loosens up when she’s passionate about something.”

“Like CSI reports?” she suggested with feigned innocence.

“Hey, I have read – and written – some gripping reports,” he retorted in a droll fashion. “My last report about secondary gunshot residue transfer is sheer poetry.”

Iris snorted. “All right, Shakespeare. Pass me those bowls, would you?” Their arms brushed against each other as they continued their task. Comfortable silence stretched between them, which Iris finally broke when she murmured in an undertone, “That’s what I like about you, Barry. You always see the best in everyone.”

Raising a hand to scratch his face, he blushed and lifted one shoulder in an awkward shrug. “I don’t, really,” he replied in a voice that was equally as soft. “But I like that you always see the best in me.”

“Trust me, I don’t have to try that hard.” A smile flirted at the corners of her mouth as she turned to him, her lips slightly parted. But then she giggled. “You should probably know you have some soap bubbles on your cheek. It’s adorable, really!”

“Oh, yeah?” His face was inches from hers before he lifted his hand and swiped the tip of her nose. Now that’s adorable.”

Iris jumped, a plate slipping out of her fingers and hitting the bottom of the sink hard, when she heard a sound behind her. She turned to see Cisco in the doorway, Caitlin right behind him. “Ah, we just wanted to come and check on you guys and make sure we couldn’t convince you to let us finish up in here,” he explained.

“No, we’re almost done in here. We’ll be out in a minute!” Iris said, shooing them away. But as they finished up their chore, it was with several more inches between them.

* * *

A while later Iris finally found a moment to spend with Caitlin in relative privacy. “So, what is this I hear about a new guy you’re interested in?” her friend prompted, wasting no time.

Iris blushed and started peeling the label to her beer. “Eddie? How’d you hear about him? Wait, don’t answer that. In retrospect, I realize it was a stupid question. Let me guess…Barry?” The answering nod came as no surprise, so she asked, “Why, what did he say about him?” First Julian, now Caitlin. It seemed Barry apparently talked about her a lot. Probably to complain about her matchmaking efforts.

“Not much, don’t worry. Just that you seem interested in him. What’s he like? How did you meet?”

Iris filled her in quickly on her morning adventure, then concluded, “As for what he’s like, I don’t really know. He seems nice, but I don’t know him very well, obviously. I just talked with him a little this morning and over lunch, though we’re supposed to meet up again tomorrow.”

“But was Barry right? Are you interested him?”

She considered the question, a tiny frown furrowing her brow. “I don’t know. Maybe. I guess? Maybe.”

Caitlin considered this vacillation. Finally, she said, “Well, I guess maybe is better than definitely not.” After a moment, she asked, her tone a little distracted, “What about Barry?”

Iris’s mind had been wandering, but at this question, she startled, her breath catching in her throat. “Wh-what about him? Have I thought about – no, of course not! I mean…no! Of course not!”

Her friend threw her a wry smile. “No. Of course not,” she parroted, and Iris couldn’t tell if she was teasing. “I was asking if you think he’s interested in anyone.”

Feeling inexplicably irritated, she asked, “Why? Do you have someone in mind?” Propping her chin on her fist, she followed Caitlin’s gaze across the room. “Patty? You think he might be interested in Patty?” she practically squeaked.

“Shhh! They’ll hear you!” She waited until she was certain neither of them were looking, then she continued in an undertone, “Yes, Patty! She has a secret admirer. Well, secret to me, at least. Do you think it could be Barry?”

Iris pulled back and looked askance at the two engaged in conversation across the room. “Well, I-I don’t know,” she admitted, her voice wavering. “I hadn’t really – it’s not something I’ve ever considered. What do you mean a secret admirer?”

“A man came to the door today and delivered a package for her. A diamond necklace. Thing is, as far as I know, the only people who knew when she was getting into town are you, Barry, and me. Well, and Cisco, but I seriously doubt my husband is sending anyone else diamond necklaces. So…pretty coincidental, right? And look at the way they’re talking! I’ve never seen her like this with anyone else! They’re cute together, don’t you think?”

Her stomach sinking, she had to agree. She remembered the conversation she’d interrupted; even in that, Patty had been far more animated than she’d ever managed to find her before. Could it be possible? Could Barry and Patty…?

No, surely not. She couldn’t be his type. Could she? Iris fought back a slight sting as she watched Barry throw back his head and laugh. Maybe she was.

“Oh. I mean…I guess. They’re adorable,” Iris muttered before tearing her eyes way from the possible lovebirds and downing the rest of her beer. It tasted bitter on her tongue.


	4. Chapter 4

_Dear SBL_

_My SO and I have been together for over ten years. We’ve had a good life together – we’ve never really had any ugly arguments or things we couldn’t work through. The problem is, I’ve realized I just don’t love him anymore. He haven’t done anything wrong; I just somehow fell out of love when I wasn’t looking, and I can’t seem to get that feeling back. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I finally broke down and told him I was unhappy. He convinced me to try counseling, and we’ve been going for over six months, but it isn’t helping. I know if I tell him it’s over, it’ll break his heart and I hate the thought of hurting him like that. But I can’t keep living like this, and I know I’ll only make him miserable if I keep trying. What should I do?_

_Feeling Alone_

_Dear Alone_

_I don’t mean to sound unkind, but I have to be blunt. Reading your letter, it feels like you already know what you’re going to do. Do you want me to tell to do it so you can pretend like the decision was out of your hands? I’m sorry, but I can’t do that._

_I don’t know what’s best for you. I can tell you that relationships take work and being in love isn’t the action of a moment. It’s a decision you make over and over. It isn’t always easy, and it doesn’t always go according to plan, even with the best of intentions. I can give advice, but at the end of the day, the decision is yours. If you have a counselor, you can talk to them, but you’re still going to be the one to make the decision._

_As painful as it has been, I think you’ve done the right thing in being honest with your SO. Now it’s time for you to be honest with yourself. You know what you’re going to do; having someone else say the words isn’t going to make it any easier or keep someone from getting hurt._

* * *

_He’s a nice man, but I don’t think I’m falling in love with him._ The sentiment had come to mind several times over the last couple of days. She accepted it with a slight twinge of regret, smiling at Eddie as he ended the phone call that had interrupted their walk towards the food court. She’d spent every day at the convention center, getting information and conducting interviews for her self-assigned story. Between panels and over lunch, she often spent her time with Eddie. He was smart, funny, charming, and definitely handsome. With a smile that had caught the attention of more than one wandering eye, he was every sane woman’s picture of a perfect man. But she wasn’t falling in love with him.

What was wrong with her?

Iris swallowed her sigh, only halfway listening as he returned to her side and continued escorting her to grab some food. After a few moments, he grabbed her hand, linking his fingers in hers, and gave it a slight squeeze. “You aren’t listening to me at all, are you?” he asked, his eyes filling with laughter, once he had her attention.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled sheepishly. “I was thinking about – my story.” The lie came after only a slight pause.

He grimaced. “It hasn’t been the most exciting morning, has it? That last lecture on the proper care and maintenance of lab equipment was particularly gripping.”

She flashed him a quick wry smile. The lecture had been as scintillating as it had sounded, delivered in a monotone that had to qualify as a violation of the Geneva Conventions. Making it worse, the lecture fell before lunch but after everyone’s dose of morning caffeine had worn off. She’d tried to hide her yawns throughout; Barry had actually seemed to enjoy the lecture and she hadn’t wanted his enjoyment diminished by her boredom.

“At least this morning’s lecture, _C.S.I. Techniques: Hollywood Myths Debunked_ , was interesting.”

“Still, if my favorite reporter is going to make it through the afternoon, we’ll have to find some way to liven things up for you,” he remarked. Once again, she was astonished at the realization that she wasn’t falling in love with him. The implied affection of his claim – that she was his favorite reporter – should have made her heart soar. Instead, she was flattered by the compliment but not particularly moved by the sentiment.

How could she not be falling in love with him?

Music filtered through the food court windows from outside, and Eddie used his hold on her hand to pull her into his arms, moving her in an impromptu two-step that made her chuckle and momentarily distracted her from her unromantic musings. Whatever her feelings for him, he did seem to be a generally good guy.

He twirled her, releasing her hand, and she came to a stop right in front of Patty and Barry, who were looking at her with wide eyes. Iris laughingly opened her mouth to explain, trying to ignore the realization and implication of the fact that they were once again together, but Eddie was still feeling in a dancing mood. This time, he grabbed Patty’s hand and spun her around, humming off-key to the music.

Barry looked grumpy once again. It seemed he’d been disgruntled a lot lately and Iris hated the uncharitable thought that sprung to mind – that she hoped he was just having a problem at work. She couldn’t bear the thought that he might be jealous that Eddie was dancing with Patty.

“Watch out!” Barry barked, jumping forward to sweep an arm around Patty’s waist. He pulled her out of her spin a second before she careened into a couple carrying full trays of food. “You should pay more attention to your surroundings,” he chided Eddie after making sure Patty had regained her footing.

Eddie moved closer to Patty, apologizing for his oversight and making sure she was okay, while Barry stepped beside Iris. His crossed arms and baleful expression might have put off someone who hadn’t known him most of their life, but Iris was unperturbed. She rested her hand on his arm and murmured in a soothing tone pitched for only him to hear, “They were only having a little fun.”

He shot her a look out of the corner of his eye, and his voice was strained as he retorted, “He’s showing off, you mean. He should pay more attention to what’s going on around him. Patty could have gotten hurt a minute ago!”

Iris jerked as though she’d been burned, her hand falling from his arm as Caitlin’s suggestion came rushing back. She cleared her throat and pretended to fuss with some lint on her shirt so she didn’t have to meet his eye, missing the confused look he shot her way. Her voice was deceptively calm, however, as she offered, “You know, if you’re worried he’s going to make a move on Patty, I don’t think you need to be. They’re just coworkers.”

“Make a move on –?” he echoed. “Wait, you think – you think I have a thing for Patty?”

He sounded so astonished that she braved a quick glance at his face. His eyes were wide, his mouth agape, and the look of surprise on his face seemed so genuine that she felt her heart lift. “Well, Caitlin – that is, Caitlin and I discussed the possibility,” she demurred.

“I can’t believe this,” he muttered, running his hand through his hair. She watched the muscles in his neck move as he swallowed heavily, and then he tried to explain, “I’m not interested in Patty. I mean, she’s great. I like her a lot. But I’m not interested in her like – like that.” He fumbled through the words, his face going increasingly red. She didn’t know what to say in response; the uncomfortable silence that fell between them was so unlike their usual easy rapport, she didn’t know how to break it. Finally, he asked in a soft voice, “Are you trying to set me up with Patty? Is that your next matchmaking project?”

“No!” she yelped too loudly, drawing the attention of some bystanders. Lowering her voice to a more reasonable level, she continued. “That’s not…I’m not trying to set you up with anybody. Honest. I just…Caitlin thought…” She was stumbling over her words, without a clue how to dig herself out of this situation. “I just want you to be happy, Barry. That’s all.”

He made a small sound but didn’t say anything as Eddie bounded to her side. Eddie looped his arm around her waist, but she barely noticed as she tried to read Barry’s expression. His emotions were normally as familiar to her as her own; for years, she had read them like an open book. But now that book was closed to her, and she could find no hint of his thoughts in the lines of his face. Was he interested in Patty after all, and perturbed that Caitlin had guessed?

“We should go out after the last panel tonight,” Eddie suggested with enough enthusiasm to temporarily draw her attention from her unhappy thoughts. “All of us. Central City has to have more to offer than this convention center!”

“Um, right,” Iris answered, trying to hide her misery as Patty sidled up to Barry and he shifted to face her. The movement succeeded in hiding his face from Iris’s view, and she had to wonder if that was purposeful. “I guess I know a club we could go to,” she suggested slowly.

Barry murmured something to Patty, and the two ignored Eddie as they melted into the crowd. If the other man noticed their lack of enthusiasm for his plan, he gave no indication. Instead, he exclaimed, “Great!” and grabbed Iris by the waist with both arms to spin her around. Under normal circumstances, his excitement would be infectious. However, while his antics had brought her laughter a few moments before, now it was all she could do to fake a smile. He dipped her, and she forced a laugh as she looked into his bright blue eyes.

_It’s too bad I’m not falling in love with him. Things would be so much easier if I were._

* * *

She was in a better mood that evening as Eddie led her through the crowd and onto the dance floor. It was perhaps a shame she couldn’t imagine a future with him, but that didn’t mean she didn’t or couldn’t enjoy his company. As for Barry, she hadn’t had a chance to talk to him since their earlier conversation, but she’d decided to take his statement at face value – even if Caitlin seemed determined to put doubt into her mind, suggesting he had perhaps protested too much.

She tried to lose herself in the moment, but it didn’t take her long to realize Eddie was craning his neck to look around the crowd. “Looking for someone?” she asked.

He startled, his eyes dropping back to hers as he spun her around. After a momentary pause, he explained, “Ah, well, I’m looking for Spivot, actually. I heard she was sent a diamond necklace, and I wanted to ask her about it.”

Her interest piqued, she prodded with raised eyebrows, “How did you hear about that? Anyway, I thought you didn’t know her very well. What does it matter if she was sent a necklace?”

Eddie lifted his shoulder in a slight shrug. “Just heard a rumor somewhere, I guess. I wouldn’t normally care, but –” he paused and then dropped his voice to a conspiratorial murmur, pulling her forward until she was pressed against him. Resting his hand on her lower back and continuing to move to the beat, he whispered in her ear, “You know she just transferred into my division. Rumor is, when she was in her last position, she had an affair with her partner, Frank Dixon. They tried to keep it quiet because that kind of fraternization is against regulation, but maybe now that she’s not in his department any longer, they’ve decided to be more open about their relationship.”

Iris was a little taken aback, as much by the fact that he was sharing such a rumor with her as anything else. “But if they no longer work together, surely that’s not a problem,” she protested.

He shook his head. “Maybe not, but as her superior, I have to make sure that’s all it is. If things have changed and she’s now dating someone within our division, that is my business. I have to make sure that isn’t the case.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” she conceded, nibbling gently at her lower lip, her enjoyment of the dance ruined. She didn’t particularly care who Patty was dating, but if it led to Barry getting hurt…

“Anyway, I’m dancing with the most beautiful woman in this place tonight, and the last thing I want to do is talk about Spivot. I’m more interested in you. You know, I’m usually bored by these yearly conventions with their endless lectures, but meeting you has really made the entire trip worthwhile.”

“I’m glad I met you, too,” she responded, keeping her tone noncommittal. She didn’t want to imply more than she felt, but her words were true. She was glad to have made a new friend. Eddie grinned and spun her around once more.

When he pulled her back against him, she looked up and was shocked to see Linda approach the bar. She had texted Linda earlier about coming out but was told she had other plans. Iris assumed Linda’s plans had fallen through and thought little of it, until she saw the sadness on her friend’s face. She stopped dancing, ready to join her side to find out what was wrong. However, she paused when she saw Barry was trailing Linda through the crowd. As they moved towards the dance floor, he put his arm around her shoulders and said something into her ear that made her smile, and Iris relaxed and allowed Eddie to pull her back into the dance.

A while later, as she, Cisco, and Caitlin were goofing off on the dance floor, Iris looked around for Linda and Barry, wanting to invite them to join in. Barry was nowhere to be found, but Linda was waiting for a drink refill at the bar. A group of three men shoved in next to her and one said something that made her shake her head. They weren’t deterred by her rejection, however. The leader of the group said something that seemed to offend her, as Linda’s shoulders tensed with anger and she shot back a retort. Seeing what was happening, Iris shoved between Caitlin and Cisco and charged to her friend’s rescue.

Just then, Eddie scooted in front of Linda, cutting in front of her unwelcome companions. There was a brief exchange as the instigator said something to the back of Eddie’s head and he shot a retort over his shoulder. The trio shifted and traded looks. When Eddie grinned and said something else, they finally shuffled away. At the sight of Linda’s laugh and the teasing punch to Eddie’s shoulder, Iris could have kissed him.

It was at just that moment that Iris stopped in her tracks and it struck her. Eddie wasn’t the right guy for her, but what about Linda? She was momentarily distracted as Caitlin and Cisco barreled into her from behind, ready to join her in coming to Linda’s defense.

Iris turned to throw them a relieved smile and was surprised at the sight of her brother, who was standing right behind them. “Wally! What are you doing here?” she asked with a gasp.

Wally had been looking towards the bar, but he lowered his eyes to hers and threw her a tight smile. “I, uh, I was looking for – for you,” he explained haltingly. At her expectant look, he continued just as awkwardly, “I, um, just thought I’d stop by and see if you were here, I mean. Just wanted to, uh, say hi.”

“Oh, okay,” she replied weakly, throwing him a small, confused frown. Feeling the awkwardness of the exchange, she stepped forward and gave him a quick hug. “I’m glad to see you, of course! I would have invited you out, but I thought you said you had a date tonight.”

Wally scowled. “I did,” he grumbled, returning the embrace.

“It didn’t go very well?” she asked as she pulled away.

He was glum as he explained, “I really like her, Iris, but she doesn’t think I’m serious about –” his voice trailed off, his scowl deepening as he focused on something over her shoulder. His eyes were sad as he finished, “It doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have – I’m gonna head home.”

“Wally!” she cried, reaching out for his arm. She’d never seen him like this before, and her heart ached for him. If only she could make his pain go away.

“I’ll be okay, Iris,” he reassured her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I mean, she’s probably right. I’ve gotten over all my other girlfriends so easily, I’ll have forgotten her too by tomorrow.”

“Do you really believe that?” she demanded in an undertone, her hand tightening on his sleeve.

Wally opened his mouth to answer, but he simply sighed and shrugged instead. After another quick glance over her head, he grimaced and pulled away, walking out without another word.

Iris would have followed, but he didn’t seem to want company. Remembering her previous purpose, she turned around and stretched onto her toes to look towards the bar. Linda was still there, engrossed in conversation with Eddie. They seemed to be hitting it off, even without Iris’s interference.

Something was going right this evening, at least.


	5. Chapter 5

_Dear Struck_

_I was friends with this girl for a year before we started dating. We dated for three years, but it didn’t work out, and since we still care about each other, we decided to try to stay friends. I thought I could handle it because I’d rather have her as a friend than not have her in my life. I just found out she’s started dating someone else, and while I know I should be happy for her (and I’m trying to be), it hurts every time I see the two of them together. How can I get over this feeling?_

_Still in Love_

_Dear Still in Love_

_When you’ve loved someone and things don’t work out, there’s often a temptation to try to remain friends. It’s understandable – you don’t want to lose everything they’ve meant to you. Unfortunately, it isn’t always possible. The problem is that people make the mistake of thinking they have to transition into friendship right away. It may be an admirable intention, but that’s incredibly difficult and can make your heartache worse._

_It may be possible to remain friends with your ex, but you need to take care of yourself first. If you’re still in love and it hurts to see her with someone else, you may need to distance yourself from the situation for a while to heal. If she cares about you, I’m sure she’ll understand. Once you’ve had time to heal, you can revisit your friendship and move forward, but don’t beat yourself up if it’s difficult at first or if you two have to figure out how to negotiate your new relationship dynamic._

* * *

“Hey, Barry. It’s me. Uh, Iris. Again. Give me a call when you get a chance, I guess.” She frowned at her phone as she disengaged the call. She’d been trying to get a hold of him all day, but they hadn’t spoken since their misunderstanding the day before.

She was mulling over what this might mean as she walked through the CCPN front doors and saw Caitlin standing by Linda’s desk. The two ladies were deep in conversation, their bodies leaning in close to each other. As soon as she walked through the doors, Cisco greeted her a little louder than necessary. At the sound of her name, Caitlin looked over and waved. Then she leaned in close to Linda again, murmured something quickly, and the two women broke apart. 

“Hey!” Iris greeted her friends, desperately trying to remember if she’d known they were planning to stop by.

Her mind was put at ease when Cisco cleared his throat and said, “I hope it’s okay that we’re dropping by like this, but Caitlin wanted to talk to you.” He kept darting quick glances at his wife, and the way he rocked back and forth on his feet betrayed his anxiety.

Caitlin was looking at her with such concern, Iris wondered if she was about to be informed of a terminal diagnosis. “I need to talk to you about something. Do you have a second?” she asked, wringing her hands.

Iris nodded and glanced around the room. Whatever news she was about to hear, it seemed likely she would want it to be discussed in private. “Uh, sure…come with me,” she said, leading them into a small conference room. Once the door was closed behind them, she turned to them and braced herself for an unpleasant conversation. “What’s going on?”

“It’s about Eddie,” Caitlin said slowly, shooting nervous glances at her husband. He shifted closer to her, silently offering her comfort and support.

Rapidly growing alarmed by her companion’s tension, Iris demanded, “Is everything okay? He hasn’t been in an accident, has he?”

“No, no! Nothing like that!” Cisco rushed to reassure her. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

“It’s just – I don’t know how to tell you this. It’s just…you remember that necklace that was delivered to Patty? It’s from Eddie,” Caitlin explained. “They just came back from the courthouse. They got married in front of a Justice of the Peace this morning.”

Iris frowned and gave her head a little shake, as though trying to clear away the cobwebs. “What? What do you mean? They work together, but – Eddie sent her the necklace? He said he didn’t really know her. They just started working together!”

Cisco threw her a commiserating smile, though it looked more like a grimace. “It turns out they knew each other a little better than he let on. I guess they met and started dating about a year ago, when Patty first put in to transfer to his division. They knew the transfer would never be approved if their relationship were common knowledge, so they covered it up.”

“But I thought she was dating her former partner, Dixon,” Iris protested weakly, mentally starting to put the pieces together.

“No, he helped cover for them, and people got the wrong idea,” Caitlin interjected. “I’m really sorry about this –”

“But, wait! If they had to keep it a secret because she wouldn’t be transferred to his division if it were revealed, then why are they being open about it now? Nothing’s changed.”

Caitlin and Cisco exchanged a quick look. “Apparently Eddie applied for a promotion several months ago. He received word yesterday that it was approved. That’s why he was so eager to go out and celebrate. He won’t be working directly with her division anymore, so I guess there’s no longer a need to keep their relationship a secret,” she explained.

“Oh,” Iris breathed, still trying to process this news. How could she have been so wrong about him?

Seeing her distress, Caitlin rushed forward to wrap an arm around her shoulders. “Iris, we’re really sorry about this. If we’d had any idea –”

Cisco grabbed her hands. “I can’t believe he led you on like he did, and I know this has to hurt. What can we do to make it better? I’m not sure I can hurt him, but I’m sure I could find a way to really ruin his day.”

Iris laughed, her voice shaking. “No, of course not,” she reassured him, squeezing his hands in appreciation. “I’m fine, really. Just surprised.”

“But I was so happy it seemed like – like the two of you…” Caitlin’s voice trailed off.

She shook her head. “At first, I thought maybe the two of us would, too. But I realized yesterday that, as nice as he is…I wasn’t falling for him.”

“Really?” she blurted. “But even Barry thought –!” She broke off again, her face flushing. At Iris’s prompting look, she finished lamely, “We were just really sure there was something between the two of you.”

She shook her head. “No. I thought he was interested in me, but…” She shrugged. “Speaking of Barry, have you spoken with him lately? I’ve been trying to get a hold of him all day, but he hasn’t returned my calls. Is he okay about – about Patty?”

“We haven’t spoken to him,” Cisco replied.

“I’m sure he won’t be hurt by the news, though,” his wife cut in. “I’d had my suspicions, but last night, I realized he isn’t interested in her romantically. But are you sure you’re really okay about Eddie? I’m sure this has to be a shock.”

She scowled. “Well, I think he’s a jerk for leading me on, because even if I wasn’t interested in him, he had no way of knowing that! But I’m not heartbroken.” She paused before adding, “But if you talk to Barry, would you ask him to give me a call? I’m just kind of – it kind of feels like he’s avoiding me.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Cisco said comfortingly.

Caitlin grabbed his arm and nodded towards the door. “Anyway, if you’re sure you’re really okay, we should probably let you get back to work. I really am sorry about this.”

Iris threw them a reassuring smile, nodded, and said nothing as she watched them leave. Maybe it was just her imagination, but Caitlin’s reaction really made her wonder if her friend didn’t know something. Maybe her suspicion about Barry avoiding her was right, after all.

The very thought made her want to cry.

* * *

She was still wallowing in misery a couple of hours later when Linda scooted her chair over to her desk. “We have to talk about last night!”

“Déjà vu,” Iris mumbled in an undertone. Then, reminding herself that her friend didn’t deserve to be the recipient of her churlishness, she tried to shove all thoughts of Barry aside and threw Linda an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I was just…I’m having a bad morning. But I’d love to hear something that would cheer me up! What happened last night?”

Linda grinned. “Oh, you know, nothing much,” she teased. “It’s just that I think I might be falling in love. Not to be too melodramatic, but when he came to my rescue last night, we had a good long talk and…Iris, he’s amazing! And that smile…? Can you blame me for falling for him?”

“Oh, wow. That’s…that’s sudden. Are you sure?” she stammered, and then the penny dropped. She remembered how she’d seen Eddie and Linda together and thought they might make a good couple. The possibility that Linda might have had the same thought and would now be broken hearted made her feel slightly sick. “Oh, god. You aren’t…you aren’t talking about…about Eddie, are you? Because there’s something I think you should know before you go any further –”

Linda laughed. “Eddie? Of course not! I mean, he’s nice, and I definitely appreciate him intervening with those Neanderthals at the club. But I’m not going to fall for a guy who clearly is interested in you. I’m talking about Barry!”

Iris’s mug of coffee almost slipped out of her hands, which had gone suddenly numb. She put it back on her desk with enough force for its contents to slosh over the sides, not even feeling the hot liquid as it splashed onto her fingers. “Barry? You’re falling in love with…but how did he come to your rescue?”

Linda didn’t seem to catch onto the fact that Iris’s voice was rapidly rising in pitch because her blissful smile didn’t slip an inch as she replied, “Oh, it probably seems like such a small thing, but I was having a terrible evening. I was really depressed about – it’s not important, really. Barry realized I was miserable and went out of his way to make me smile, make sure I had a good time. We danced and –”

The room was closing in, and Iris felt like she had to struggle to get enough oxygen as she demanded, “But…but do you think…I don’t want you to get hurt. Do you have any reason to think he feels the same way?”

Her friend nodded, tearing Iris’s heart in two. “From what he said last night, I’m almost sure of it, actually. In fact, it seems like he has for a while. Since our first night at the club, at least.” She paused and then added thoughtfully, “And now that you think about it, maybe my feelings for him have been growing all along, and I didn’t even realize it.”

Squeezing her eyes shut, Iris thought back to everything that had happened since that evening, trying to make sense of Linda’s words. She remembered how Linda and Barry had been so deep in conversation that evening – so much that Linda didn’t even notice that Julian was leaving until he actually bumped into her on the way out the door. The phone call Linda had asked to take privately during the football game, when Barry was at the conference – and her smile upon her return. Now that she thought of it, Linda had been suspiciously secretive lately, smiling happily over exchanged texts and canceling plans at the last minute. Their closeness the night before, when he’d pulled her into a dance… All this time, she and Caitlin had wondered if he was interested in Patty, when it had been Linda all along.

Linda’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Why? Has he said something? Is there any reason why I shouldn’t let myself fall in love with him?”

 _Because I love him. I’ve always loved him._ The realization slammed into her so hard that she gasped for breath. Her eyes flew open, and she opened her mouth to tell Linda the truth. But then she saw the hope in Linda’s eyes - one of her best friends in the world – and she couldn’t do it. Fighting back her tears, she tried to hide her misery behind a fake smile as she shook her head. “No, he hasn’t – he hasn’t said anything. I can tell you that he’s the last guy in the world who would ever lead someone on, so if he’s given you reason to believe that he shares your feelings, then I’m sure –” Her voice wavered, almost breaking, and she had to swallow heavily before she could continue. “I’m sure he does.”

Linda’s eyes searched her face, and Iris assumed she’d managed to hide her real feelings well enough when she finally sat back with a satisfied smile, Iris stammered, “Um, I’m sorry. I-I have to go. I have – there’s an interview. I mean, I have an interview. Talk to you later?”

“Sure!” Linda agreed, her grin indicating that she saw nothing strange in her companion’s behavior. Iris grabbed her purse and bolted from the building, managing to make it outside before she burst into tears.


	6. Chapter 6

_Dear SBL_

_I have a friend who swears she isn’t looking for a relationship, but I know someone who would be perfect for her. Any tips on how to set her up without making it seem too obvious?_

_Matchmaker in the Making_

_Dear Matchmaker_

_While it may seem ironic coming from a romantic advice column, my advice would be to be careful. No matter how perfect you think they are for each other, there’s no guarantee they’ll view the situation the same way. If you really think they might be a great match, introduce them at a social gathering and then stand back and let them come to their own conclusions about what, if anything, should happen next. Believe me, people have the strangest way of insisting they be in charge of their love lives, and the best thing you can do for the people you love is to let them work things out for themselves._

* * *

Iris was still trembling when she closed her front door and sagged against the solid panel of wood, searching for strength. She had cried the entire way home, but surely here, in her sanctuary, she would be able to get herself under control.

She dropped her coat in a heap on the ground and staggered towards the couch. With a heavy sigh, she collapsed onto it, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her forehead against her knees. A few deep, steadying breaths later, she realized the flaw in her plan.

Everything about her home – everything about her _life_ – reminded her of Barry. They had spent endless nights watching movie marathons on this couch. Even glancing around the room, there were countless reminders of him. His photo on her side table, his old coat hanging on the hook by the door, his sweater tossed over the back of the chair. With a hiss of frustration, she slapped the photo frame face down, but there were at least six more in this room alone.

If she’d wanted to go somewhere to get distance from her feelings for Barry, she’d come to the exact wrong place.

Iris jumped to her feet and raced to the door, not even pausing to grab her jacket on the way out. She hit the street at near a dead run and charged down the sidewalk, but she didn’t even make it a full block before she ran out of steam. Memories of Barry followed her like ghosts, reminding her of the feelings she’d managed to ignore for too long. They had grabbed coffee before at that café on the corner. He often brought her breakfast bagels from the little mom and pop bakery down the block. Heck, even the sidewalk itself carried memories of him – of hundreds of slow, companionable walks side by side.

She paused under the tree he’d climbed once in response to her dare (he’d torn his pants on the way back down) and leaned against its trunk, ignoring the pain of rough bark digging into her arm. How could she have been blind to her feelings for so long? Perhaps because he’d been such an integral part of her life for practically as long as she could remember. Loving him was as natural to her as breathing, as unconscious – and vital – as the beating of her heart.

She felt the hot sting of tears again but she fought them back. She’d told him just yesterday that all she wanted was for him to be happy. If he thought he would find happiness with Linda, then she couldn’t stand in his way any more than she could burden him with the secrets her heart had hidden so well from her.

Sniffling, Iris wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and straightened. She would get her feelings under control. Her heartache might be tearing her in two, but nobody else could even know. Caitlin, Cisco, Wally…they would either pity her for her blindness or, worse, try to make things better by telling Barry the truth. Either would kill her, she was sure.

She shoved her hands in her pockets and strolled down the block at a somewhat more reasonable pace than before. Every block carried a memory of Barry, but the day might come that those memories provided her comfort, rather than pain. They would be reminders of what might have been that she would hold dear, even if nobody else ever knew.

Iris turned the corner and almost bumped into the very man who was such a prominent figure in her thoughts. “Barry!” she gasped in surprise, stumbling back a few steps. Her hand twitched with the urge to make sure all evidence of her former tears was off her face, but she was afraid the gesture would give her away. “What are you doing here?”

Barry reached out to steady her, but she moved one step out of reach. He dropped his hands and straightened, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Oh. Um. I came to see you, actually.” She arched her eyebrows, since they were a block and a half from her front door, and he threw her a wry smile in return. “I was taking a walk around the block first. A couple of walks around the block, actually.”

Her eyes searched his face, his features so familiar and dear to her that she could have traced the flecks of color in his eyes in the dark. Unfortunately, those features gave nothing away now. Trying to mask her own feelings, she asked, “Is everything okay?”

“That’s what I came to ask you, actually,” he replied. “I heard about Eddie.”

Iris’s gaze dropped to the ground. “Oh, right. Him.” She’d actually forgotten that morning’s news in her subsequent shock. His duplicity was the least of her worries now.

“I just – I want you to know that…what he did…I know it has to hurt now, but it won’t hurt forever.” Barry’s words were halting.

She was touched that he would try to comfort her, when he should have been preoccupied by his own happiness. “I think you might have misunderstood our situation,” she explained gently. “I was surprised by the news this morning, but I wasn’t hurt by it.”

“Iris – do you mean that?”

His voice was so shocked that her eyes flew back to his face. She nodded and, in a soft voice, reassured him, “I’m angry that he lied and he used me to cover up his relationship with Patty. But he didn’t break my heart, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Barry cupped her face in his palms, his thumbs brushing a light pattern over her cheekbones. At his touch, Iris caught her breath and reminded herself that his happiness was more important than her pain. The reminder was probably the only thing that kept her from crumbling into a million pieces.

“If that’s true, then why do you look so sad, Elf?”

Twisting, she pulled away and dropped her gaze to his third button, hating that he could read her so easily. “I’m not sad,” she lied. To deflect any more questions, she started to walk, knowing he would join her and wouldn’t be able to read her face so easily.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him rock back on his heels before he fell into step by her side. “I’m glad this conference is over soon and with any luck we’ll never have to see him again,” he grumbled. “Though I suppose, since he’s technically related to Caitlin by marriage now, that’s unlikely. Still…I have to admit that I’m a little jealous of him.”

Keeping her head bowed, Iris grunted and braced herself. She could tell he was working up the courage to confess something, probably his feelings for Linda. She imagined it would be awkward for him, having to tell his best friend that he wanted to date her friend and coworker. Even though she knew she would have to face it eventually, she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to hear the words now. Not when her feelings were so raw, so close to the surface.

“My Iris isn’t going to ask me why I’m jealous?” His voice was teasing, but his posture was far from relaxed. “You’re usually so curious.” She shrugged in response, wishing there was deeper meaning to those words – “my Iris” – than friendship, wanting to hold them closer to her heart than was her right.

“Well, I’ll tell you anyway!” he continued, refusing to be put off by her recalcitrance. She was a terrible friend, she knew, because the eager happiness in his voice made her flinch.

“Don’t!” she snapped, whirling on him. “I don’t want to hear it. Please. I can’t – not right now.”

When she met his eyes, she realized that there was something that could hurt more than her own heartache – seeing the pain she’d caused him. “Oh. But I – no. I-I understand,” he murmured, his shoulders sagging, his eyes dropping to the pavement. “Um. I just wanted to – Never mind. It isn’t important.”

Shoving his hands back in his pockets, Barry whirled and took a step away before she grabbed his arm to stop him. She couldn’t let him walk away like this. Her face flushing, Iris ignored her heartache and focused on his eyes instead. “No, wait. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” Lunging forward, she lifted onto her toes and wrapped her arms around him, resting her cheek on his shoulder as she held him in a tight hug. She was grateful he wouldn’t be able to see her face as she continued, “You’re my best friend, and I love you. So whatever you need to tell me, I’m here for you. I mean that.”

For a moment, she could swear his arms trembled as he wrapped them around her waist and bowed his head. “I love you too, Iris,” he murmured in her ear.

She let herself pretend for a moment that he meant it the way she wished he would, and then she closed her eyes and forced herself to accept reality. He was about to tell her he was in love with her friend, and when he did, she had to pretend she was happy for him. She didn’t let go, burrowing closer to the protection of his arms as she prompted, “So what did you want to tell me?”

Barry’s low chuckle was dry and humorless. “That’s – that’s what I wanted to tell you. I love you.” Speaking the words was like a dam bursting open, and everything he’d been holding inside for too long rushed out. “I should have told you sooner – a lot sooner. And I know it probably isn’t fair to tell you this now, when you’re hurting over what Eddie did. This isn’t the right moment. But that’s kind of the problem. It’s never the right moment. I kept thinking ‘maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, the time will be right.’ And then I saw you with Eddie and I realized…I missed my chance. I waited too long. I couldn’t wait any longer. I’m not expecting anything from you by telling you this, but I couldn’t keep pretending. I had to – I just – Iris, please say something.”

“You – do you really mean it?” Iris asked, sounding distant and numb, as she pulled back and stepped away. “You – you love me?” He nodded, but the concept was so different from what she’d been preparing herself to hear, she had to repeat the words, just to try to make them make sense. “You love me?”

“I love you,” he said softly with a nod. She could see the truth in his eyes, so pure and undeniable that she wondered how she’d missed it before. “I’ve loved you for so long, I don’t even remember a time in my life that I didn’t. I’ll love you for the rest of my life. And no matter what happens next, I’ll never regret a second spent loving you.”

She’d spent the last few hours tortured by the thought he would never feel for her what she felt for him. Now she found that he not only reciprocated her feelings, he’d recognized them for what they were well before she did. She’d almost think she was dreaming if the feeling of her heart pounding in her chest didn’t make it all too evident that she was awake.

Iris opened her mouth to say something, and instead of words, a tiny squeak came out. She covered her face as her shoulders started to shake, fighting a losing battle to get herself under control.

Barry rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her again, rubbing his hand soothingly down her back. “Oh, my god. Iris, are you okay? I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Please – don’t cry. Please, it’ll be okay. I-I didn’t mean it. I mean, I did, but I can pretend I didn’t if you want me to. Oh, my god, Iris, don’t cry.”

It hadn’t even occurred to her that he would think she was upset. Iris pulled her hands down so he could see that her shoulders were shaking with laughter, not tears. “No, no!” she rushed to reassure him through a hiccup before dissolving into giggles again. “I’m not – I’m not –” She shook her head and fought to get her laughter under control. He’d been honest; he deserved nothing less from than the same from her.

Sucking in a deep breath, she explained, “I wasn’t sad about Eddie. I already knew I was never going to fall in love with him. I was sad because of you, because I thought you were going to tell me that you were in love with, um, someone else. I wanted to be happy for you, but I didn’t think I could bear it.” Her eyes shining, she smiled up at him. “I meant what I said to you before. I love you.”

His eyes were hopeful as they met hers, and whatever he saw there caused him to break out into a wide grin. “You love me,” he repeated. Cupping her face in his palms, he bent and met her lips with his own, stealing her breath away as he kissed her again and again. “You love me,” he murmured once more against her mouth.

“I love you,” she whispered back in return, still amazed by all of the misunderstandings that had led them to this place. Her happiness could not be repressed, however, and her laughter broke off with another kiss.

Only one thing marred her happiness. Even as she grabbed his hand and walked with him back home, she knew she was going to have to tell Linda the truth. When she told her that she was wrong about Barry’s feelings for her, it would break her friend’s heart.

* * *

“Oh, my god! Finally!” Linda replied on a howl of laughter when she broke the news. Iris was so stunned by this unexpected reaction that she looked from Linda to Cisco and Caitlin, who were grinning widely at each other. The trio had shown up at her place unexpectedly that evening, claiming the revelation about Eddie as an excuse. Though she would have preferred to tell her friend in private, neither she nor Barry could keep the truth – or their own happiness – hidden for long, and so had together broken what they had assumed to be the bad news to Linda.

Their friend’s response was far from what she’d expected.

“Okay, Cisco, pay up! You owe me fifty bucks!” Linda crowed, doing a victory dance in front of him.

“Now, wait, are you sure –” he began to protest, but his wife cut him off.

“She definitely won this one. It took less than twenty-four hours. Incidentally, you owe me fifty dollars, too,” Caitlin pointed out.

Cisco looked aggrieved as he reached for his wallet. “But we’re married,” he protested with a slight pout.

“In that case, I suppose I can come up with other ways to collect my winnings,” she conceded as she leaned in for a kiss.

Before their lips could meet, Linda cleared her throat loudly and demanded with an unrepentant grin, “Do the ‘adorable newlyweds’ thing later. Fork over my winnings now!”

Iris and Barry looked at each other and then back at their friends. “What’s going on?”

At Iris’s clear confusion, Cisco had the grace to look mildly abashed. Linda didn’t bother; she continued her victory dance. “I can explain –” he began, before throwing her a helpless look. “Um, my wife can explain.”

Caitlin rolled her eyes at him good-naturedly, but she stepped forward. “I can understand how you would be confused,” she admitted gently. “The thing is, it was pretty obvious to everyone – except for maybe the two of you – that you guys were both crazy about each other. I mean, Barry, it’s been obvious that you were totally in love with Iris since, I don’t know –”

“The day we met you,” Cisco interjected, throwing his friend a wide grin.

“Basically, yes. With Iris, we weren’t so sure…I mean, the two of you would flirt on occasion –”

“All the time,” her husband qualified.

Ignoring him, Caitlin continued, “But we weren’t really sure it meant anything. It was Linda who pointed out that you were might either be running from your feelings or, more likely, were completely unaware of them. I think it was that day with Julian that gave her the idea.”

Linda cut in. “Caitlin insisted on letting you come to terms with things on your own time and then Eddie showed up. And we thought maybe you were falling for him –”

“Except you were so obviously jealous of the idea that Barry might be falling in love with Patty,” Caitlin continued. “We didn’t mean to meddle –”

Cisco snorted. “Oh, we totally did.”

“But it seemed to us like maybe you needed a little bit of help coming to terms with your feelings for Barry. And since my husband and I really have you to thank for helping us realize our feelings for each other, we thought we could pay you back by helping you find happiness, too.”

“So they asked me to help,” Linda added. “We figured all you needed was a little push, and you’d see what’s been so obvious to us since, well, forever. So…somehow we ended up making a bet over who would get you to crack and admit your feelings first. I had two days.”

“I had three,” Caitlin interjected.

Cisco rolled his eyes and huffed, “And I had a week. In my defense, you seemed to be in some serious denial. It’s been years; you couldn’t hold off for a little longer? I had plans for my winnings!”

Linda ignored his teasing. “It was my idea to pretend to be falling for Barry – who is totally not my type, by the way. The Eddie thing…that was unexpected.”

Caitlin’s smile fell, and she shot a guilty look in Iris’s direction. “We really are sorry about that, and we really were worried he’d hurt you. If we’d had any idea –”

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine,” Iris replied, still astonished by everything she was hearing.

Linda cleared her throat. “I suppose we should probably apologize for all of this, but we really were did just want you both to be happy.”

Iris and Barry exchanged another glance as she tried to process exactly how she should feel about their machinations. Then again, hadn’t this all started because she’d done some plotting of her own? It seemed her friends were more successful than she had been. The thought made her chuckle, even as she winced slightly. “It seems I should really be thanking you all,” she admitted. “Though I –”

Before she could say anything more, her front door flew open and Wally raced inside. “You won’t believe this, but I’m in love and I – oh ,” he broke off as he turned and saw that his sister wasn’t alone. She watched in amazement as he flushed and stuck his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels. “Oh. Uh. H-hey, Linda. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

The entire room had gone still. Everyone stared at the newcomer, their jaws collectively dropped. It was Linda who finally broke the silence. “Hey, Wally. Didn’t expect to see you here. You were saying?”

“Saying?” His voice broke. “I-I wasn’t saying anything!”

Caitlin’s voice was soft when she reminded him helpfully, “You said something about being in love.”

Wally frowned and shook his head quickly. “L-love? No. Uh, I’m sure I didn’t say that…maybe you misheard. I said, uh, g-glove.” As the last word left his mouth, he winced.

Cisco cleared his throat. “You’re in glove?” At the suggestion, Caitlin had to hide her bark of laughter behind an unconvincing cough.

Wally’s flush deepened as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sure you misheard,” he muttered.

Linda’s voice carried a laugh as she feigned innocence and teased him, “No, no! Please tell us more about this glove you find yourself in. We’re dying for details. Is it very large?”

His blush turned to a glower. “Cute,” he grumbled.

“Yes,” she gloated in return. “I am. I’m also dying to know what you were going to say. Who exactly are you in glove with?” Cisco practically guffawed.

Wally scowled at her, but then he crossed his arms over his chest and turned his attention back to his sister. “All right. Iris, I came over here because I wanted to tell you that there’s a woman I’ve been seeing, and I just can’t keep it a secret anymore. I’m absolutely crazy about her. She’s amazing! She’s smart and driven and…and incredible. She’s not as funny as she thinks she is. In fact, she likes to give me a hard time because she forgets I will get her back. But, you know, I realized I’m in love with her and I wanted to get some advice about how to tell her.”

Everyone fell silent at his confession, and Wally’s gaze fell to the floor. His head bowed, he bit off a sharp bark of laughter and continued, “I needed your advice because the thing is, she deserves a lot better than me – at least the person I’ve been. I know she doesn’t think I’m serious about her, and I can’t blame her. But I’ve never felt for anyone the way I feel about her, and I don’t know how to convince her that she can believe in me.”

Since it was obvious just who he was talking about, Iris looked between her brother and Linda in surprise. Her friend was practically glowing; her smile could light up the room. “I do believe in you, Wally. And I’m in love with you, too,” Linda confessed.

“You guys – when did –?” Iris finally managed as Wally’s head shot up and he beamed, rushing to Linda’s side to pull her into a deep kiss.

When they finally broke apart, Linda tucked herself against Wally’s chest and threw Iris an unabashed grin. “Ah, right. I was going to tell you about that. I know I said I wasn’t going to call him after that night at the bar, but I bumped into him later that day. Well, actually, he was pacing outside, trying to get up the nerve to come in to see me –”

“I wasn’t nervous!” he protested. “I was just, you know, trying to figure out how to ask.” Cisco clapped him on the shoulder and shook his head, silently telling him not to bother.

Linda chuckled and brushed a kiss against his chin. “Anyway, he came up with words that almost formed a sentence, and I agreed to join him for a cup of coffee. And then dinner. And then after-dinner drinks. And then…well, it evolved from there. I didn’t want to tell you until I was absolutely sure this was real,” she paused and gave Wally’s hand a quick squeeze, “And then because I needed to keep up the charade. But, uh, your brother and I have been dating. And if you missed what I said a minute ago, I’m kinda crazy about him, too.”

Iris forgot all of her reservations in the clear happiness on the faces of the people she loved. With a soft cry, she raced forward to pull them both into a tight hug. “Oh, my god, I’m so happy for you!” she exclaimed, and when she pulled back her eyes were misty with tears of joy. Her smile quivered slightly as she joked, “Though it seems I really was wrong about everything! Now that I think about it, maybe Barry was right. I really am a terrible matchmaker.”

If she’d been tempted to be disheartened by the realization, the warm arm Barry slipped around her waist and kiss he brushed against her temple washed it away. “But you’re a great journalist. And to be fair, if you were any better at matchmaking, I wouldn’t be able to do this right now, so I’m kind of glad you aren’t,” he murmured against her skin.

Lost in the pleasure of his touch and the wonder of the happiness she was so sure was beyond her reach not long ago, she leaned against his chest and momentarily forgot about her other company until the sound of a throat clearing pulled her out of her thoughts. With a blush, she turned back to her friends, but Caitlin was gently towing them towards the door. “Well, I think it’s time to be going!” she proclaimed before the lovebirds could apologize for their distraction. “And these two could probably use some privacy. I guess Cisco and I know how you felt a few months ago,” she joked. She winked and the four darted out the door, closing it behind them.

Bemused, Iris watched them go and then ducked her head to keep her teasing smile from Barry’s view. “You know,” she began as innocently as she could manage, “When you think about it, Linda and Wally never would have met if I hadn’t tried to set her up with Julian. So really, when you think about it, I -”

Barry laughed and sat down, pulling her into his lap. “My wonderful Iris,” he began. Her heart melted at the love in his voice, and he stole the laughter from her lips with a kiss as he murmured against her mouth, “Don’t even think about it.”


End file.
